shell-worm

Definitions

noun A worm with a shell; a tubicolous annelid with a hard case, as a serpula. See cut under Serpula.
noun A mollusk of the family Dentaliidæ; a tooth-shell. See cut under tooth-shell.

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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And there came into his head a horror of taking the lives of creatures for his own use -- the shell-worm that writhed as he pulled it from the shell; the bright fish that came up struggling and gasping from the water, and that fought under his hand -- and at last he made up his mind that he would take no more life, though how he would live he knew not; and as for the world of men, he became very desirous to help a little as best he could; and there being at this time a wreck in the bay, when a boat and all on board were lost, he thought that he would wish, if he could, to keep a fire lit on dark nights, so that ships that passed should see that there was a dwelling there, and so keep farther away from the dangerous rocks.

Paul the Minstrel and Other Stories Reprinted from The Hill of Trouble and The Isles of Sunset Arthur Christopher Benson 1893